Reports: One dead, five injured in shooting at Mall of Louisiana

April 23 (UPI) -- An argument turned into a gunfight at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday, leaving five people injured, police said. One person also has been confirmed dead, unnamed sources told multiple media outlets Thursday.

In a Facebook post at 4:25 p.m., the Baton Rouge Police Department said it had five suspects in custody and the mall was secure. Reports originally said that 10 people were injured but later revised that to five, NBC News reported.

The Advocate, WAFB-TV and WBRZ-TV all reported the fatality. The Baton Rouge Police Department said reports of shots fired at the mall's food court started coming in at 1:22 p.m. Thursday. Police Chief TJ Morse said surveillance video showed two groups arguing in the area before people started shooting at each other.

"Right now there is no known threat to the public," Morse said, the Advocate reported. "As we start developing suspects, we will do everything we can. This does not appear to be a random act of violence."

Morse said emergency services and private vehicles took those injured to area hospitals and that there were varied levels of injury. He said one was in surgery and four had minor injuries.

"Unfortunately, there were some innocent people that were in the area that might have also [been hurt]," Morse said.

In a post on X, Gov. Jeff Landry asked people to avoid the area.

"Sharon and I are praying for those affected and are grateful for a quick response by our law enforcement officials," he said.

The mall is about 250 miles from Shreveport, La., where eight children were shot and killed Sunday.

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 5:36 PM.